A simple, short blog discussing the history behind each day

The Breif History of Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks, born 1913 is a widely known civil rights activist and a historical figure of the Civil Rights movement of The United States. The status of ‘The First Lady of Civil Rights’ came after she was convicted of violating the segregation laws. This conviction initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott among the African American community and a minority of the white community living in the area.

On December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks was commuting from work at the Montgomery Fair department store, where she worked as a seamstress. While sitting in the designated ‘black area’ of the bus Parks was asked to move so another row could be made for the ‘white area’ of the bus. 3 of 4 black people obeyed, she didn’t. This order was against the law at the time, which caused even more outrage. Eventually police arrived to the scene and Parks was brought into custody.

Just 4 days later Rosa Parks was found guilty of violating segregation laws and charged a total of $14. She was given a suspended sentence. Meanwhile the bus boycott was quickly gaining in numbers, much higher numbers than anticipated. Violence and outrage from the white community continued, which included the bombing of E.D Nixons house and the house of Martin Luther King Jr.

Facing continued harassment in her home town Parks and her family decided to reside in Detroit, where her brother had lived. There she became an administrative aide in the Detroit office of Congressman John Conyers Jr. in 1965, where she worked until retirement. In 1999 Parks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor given to a civilian. When she died in 2005 Parks became the first female to lie in state at the U.S Capitol.